The hustle. The bustle. Sometimes the ‘busy’ gets the best of us, and all of sudden, weeks (maybe months) go by and you realize you haven’t taken time to just enjoy. Sure, my calendar is packed full of awesome events, playdates, etc. but just hanging out with my family (our little foursome) is not as common as it should be. So we made a date – a Family Date Weekend – and headed to Portland, OR. It’s about a 4 hour drive each way, which is perfect, close – but far enough away to be considered a good ‘road trip.’
GM was kind enough to offer us a brand new 2016 Tahoe LTZ for our little vacation. So we packed up and hit the road! {Sidenote: You will see very few photos of my hubs – he’s usually the one behind the camera #InstagramHusband}
Of course we had to make a few stops – thanks goodness for Starbucks at every exit.
And since my husband is an avid outdoorsmen, we had to hit up Bass Pro Shop in Tacoma. Plus the girls dig the aquarium…
Since we have 2 young kiddos, eating out can be tricky (if you’re a parent, you get me), so we aim for quick, but obviously healthy when possible. Jimmy John’s made the cut…
Then back on the road…
Road trips are typically not my favorite – I get antsy, I want to chat (my husband prefers the radio or silence), and the littles are asking ‘are we there yet’ for the 50th time. This was so not the case this time.
For one, the Tahoe had WiFi. You read that right – WiFi. If you’re a blogger this is like the car holy grail. My husband drove and I checked some emails, blogged a bit, and finally played catch up. Since data was of no concern, I was on media cloud 9. And for the kiddos, they brought their favorite movie to watch on the DVD player. Bluetooth headphones, full water bottles and heaps of snacks – my girls would have been fine with driving all day. And my husband was able to drive in peace. :)
So maybe just one more stop (and a selfie) before we made it to Oregon…
And then we crossed the bridge…
Hello Oregon. ♥
Next stop → Voodoo Doughnut!
This world-famous sweet spot typically has a long line – fortunately it was a rainy mid-week day – so we lucked out!
When we arrived, Voodoo Doughnut had a box ready for us with some popular flavors – Portland Cream, Mango Tango, Butterfinger, Maple Bacon (for the hubs), an Old Fashioned, and the most original – a Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) Voodoo Doll.
I can’t tell you which one was my favorite – mainly because we inhaled them…but this one was pretty damn good.
I’d say the trip was going well…
That evening, we kept it low-key in our hotel room – dinner in bed with a movie – again, if you have kids, you get me. But it felt sooooo good…I wasn’t worried about messy dishes or the piling laundry – we were on vacation.
And then this happened. ♥
The next day we went to KidFest – which was an event filled with activities all geared towards families…and we found what might have been the largest bouncy house in the world.
And of course balloon animal headbands…a must.
The kiddos spent the remainder of the day swimming at the hotel with my husband (I will admit, I had to work a bit during the trip, however, not sure anyone noticed? lol). Then we finished off the night again…eating dinner in bed. We had grand hopes of checking out Luxe or Dick’s Kitchen as they have fantastic options for both vegetarians and carnivores – yet both girls were asleep by 6:30pm! This is vacationing with kids – this is real life. :)
The next day our road trip home commenced…
{Sidenote….If you need a good vacay sweater – the Idol Collective cardigan (from THIS post) was perfect.
And for the fellas…my husband loved his new 65 MCMLXV sweatpants. Road-trip approved.}
And ready to hit the road…off we went – back to Washington…
Family Date Weekend was a success. Even though it was just a few days, the luxury of hopping on the road and venturing to a new city, inspired us to do this more often. We need more mini adventures. Stay tuned. ;)
XoXo Portia
Disclosure: GM, Voodoo Doughnut, Idol Collective and 65 MCMLXV graciously provided product to try and review. The opinions expressed here represent my own, which I take great pride in providing pure honesty…because I’m OBSESSED with sharing the Good!